The Promise of Passion [Vol 1.6]

Last week I was less than enthused about role passion can play in calling. Today I hope to redeem that. There is a holy purpose to passion; one that pulls our gaze from ourselves to the world around us. According to Tim Keller,

“Passion is to sacrifice your freedom for someone else.”

This reminds me of the famous C.S. Lewis quote that our “Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.” The passion we explored last week is..well…too weak. We are not called to be less passionate, but more authentically passionate. Authentic passion will lead to flourishing in ourselves, our communities and our world.

But to live with this type of passion, we must consider two very important questions:

First, Can you know the world and still love it?

This question, posed by Steven Garber in his book Visions of Vocation, is saturated with possibility. He encourages us to “live implicated” in our world. In other words, live as though we have responsibility and investment in your place. To live implicated in your twenties requires you to have eyes to truly see what’s happening in and around your life, the amazing and the awful. . . and a heart and mind to recognize your own responsibility to be about God’s restorative and redemptive work.

Second, Knowing what you know, with the love you have within you, what are you going to do?

A knowledge that leads to love compels action. This is a passion worth exploring, and should lead you to consider not what your passion can fulfill within you, but how your passion can contribute to the flourishing of your place.

Worth Reading: Are we missing the point of spiritual disciplines? What’s the purpose? Are they for our benefit, or others’? An interesting writeup on CT’s website of a new book that’s getting some attention.